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1 of 253523 objects
Ruyi sceptre eighteenth century
Cloisonné enamel, gilt bronze and rose quartz | 11.9 x 47.5 x 13.7 cm (parts .a and .b together) | RCIN 11701
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A ruyi (sceptre) with a later wooden stand. The sceptre in bronze, of traditional arched, tapering form, with a turned-over lingzhi-shaped head, a lobed, oblong panel in the centre and lobed, oval panel at the bottom, each filled with a plaque of carved rose quartz, the head with peaches and a bat, the centre with a Buddha’s hand citron, and the last with a peach spray. The shaft decorated on both faces with formalised scrollwork in colours on a turquoise ground. Ruyi are a Chinese symbol of authority.
Text adapted from Chinese and Japanese Works of Art in the Collection of Her Majesty The Queen: Volume III.
Provenance
Presented to Queen Mary by the King and Queen of Norway, the Prince of Wales, Princess Victoria and Princes Henry and George at Christmas 1922. Said to have come from Yuanmingyuan (also known as the 'Old Summer Palace') outside Peking (now Beijing).
In 1860, British and French troops were involved in the sacking of Yuanmingyuan following the Second Opium War. A variety of works of art were taken. The British Ambassador ordered all such objects to be surrendered and a prize sale to be held where anyone could bid for these objects.This ruyi may have been brought to Europe by that means.
Recorded in Queen Mary's Bibelots Vol. II, no. 50 and Queen Mary's Private Property Vol. IV, no. 82. -
Creator(s)
(place of production)(nationality)Acquirer(s)
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Medium and techniques
Cloisonné enamel, gilt bronze and rose quartz
Measurements
11.9 x 47.5 x 13.7 cm (parts .a and .b together)
Category
Object type(s)
Place of Production
China
